Yancey County has been awarded nearly $2 million dollars by the Golden LEAF Foundation through the Community Assistance Initiative for projects selected to represent plans for education and economic development.  The grants represent a significant investment in Yancey County to develop a competitive workforce. The first of the three projects funded was $1.2 million to the Town of Burnsville for expansion of water service to Micaville. The second project funded was to the Yancey County Schools for $697,748 to provide technology upgrades at Mountain Heritage High School.  Specifically, this project will provide laptop computers for every student and teacher at Mountain Heritage to improve teaching and learning. The third project funded was to Mayland Community College for $100,000 to equip the Career and Technical Center at the Yancey Campus.  This Career and Technical Center will provide training for welding, HVAC, advanced machining, and blacksmithing/decorative metal work to help skilled workers receive the training they need to compete in a global economy.  The award of this project will also be used to leverage an additional $2 million in grants for this facility.  One project, the agricultural center project, was not funded at this time.